Mitsubishi is officially planning a return to the American pickup market after an absence stretching back well over a decade. There is one catch for anyone hoping for a distinctly Mitsubishi-developed truck: Nissan will be heavily involved.
The automaker confirmed the pickup as part of an updated version of its Momentum 2030 strategy for North America. Mitsubishi says it intends to re-enter the pickup segment “through its collaboration with Nissan,” although it hasn’t revealed the truck’s name, specifications, or launch timing.
That wording leaves some important details unanswered, including precisely how much Mitsubishi engineering the finished truck will contain. The most obvious candidate is a Mitsubishi version of the Nissan Frontier, which would give the company an established midsize pickup platform without developing one from scratch.
Whatever form it takes, the truck will be an important addition for a brand with a relatively small American lineup. Mitsubishi currently offers four models in the U.S., but plans to expand that selection significantly as it attempts to rebuild its presence in the market.
The Frontier Is The Obvious Starting Point
Mitsubishi hasn’t explicitly confirmed that its upcoming pickup will be based on the Frontier. Still, the teaser released alongside the Momentum 2030 announcement shows a double-cab truck with proportions that certainly fit the midsize, body-on-frame formula.
Using the Frontier would make considerable sense. Nissan already has an established U.S.-market truck, and sharing its underlying engineering could allow Mitsubishi to enter a competitive segment much faster and at considerably lower cost.
The final product could receive Mitsubishi-specific styling, equipment, and chassis tuning to give it some separation from its Nissan relative. There are no confirmed powertrain details, including whether the truck will stick exclusively with combustion power or eventually add some form of electrification.
Mitsubishi Has Been Here Before
This wouldn’t be Mitsubishi’s first pickup sold in the United States, nor its first built through a partnership with another automaker. Its most recent American truck was the Raider, introduced for the 2006 model year and based heavily on the Dodge Dakota.
The Raider never became a major player and disappeared as Mitsubishi’s American lineup contracted. A return now places the company in a very different midsize-truck market populated by established models such as the Toyota Tacoma, Ford Ranger, Chevrolet Colorado, GMC Canyon, and, naturally, Nissan Frontier.
Mitsubishi does have substantial pickup experience elsewhere in the world through the Triton/L200. Interestingly, cooperation already flows in the opposite direction overseas, with the latest Nissan Navara for some markets closely related to Mitsubishi’s Triton.
Momentum 2030 Expands The Lineup
The pickup forms part of a much broader effort to rebuild Mitsubishi in North America. Its near-term U.S. range is scheduled to grow from four vehicles today to six during 2027.
An all-new Eclipse Sportback electric SUV arrives this fall, followed by a rugged, off-road-focused Outlander variant in the first quarter of 2027. Those will join the Outlander Sport, Eclipse Cross, Outlander, and Outlander Plug-in Hybrid.
Mitsubishi is also emphasizing adventure-oriented vehicles as part of the strategy, which makes a pickup a logical addition. President and CEO of Mitsubishi Motors North America Mark Chaffin called Momentum 2030 the company’s “most comprehensive growth plan” ever undertaken in the region.
Another Famous Mitsubishi Could Return Too
The company also highlighted the revival of the Pajero, historically known as the Montero in the United States. Mitsubishi stresses that no decision has been made about bringing the new model to America, so a U.S. return shouldn’t be treated as confirmed.
The pickup, however, is officially part of Mitsubishi’s North American plans. It might owe much of its existence to Nissan, but after years of watching Mitsubishi’s U.S. range shrink, seeing three diamonds on the grille of an American-market truck again should still make things considerably more interesting.